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JoAnn Grubb

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Dr. David Skrobot

Genesis Wound Care Center recently added two hyperbaric oxygen chambers to offer an additional advanced wound treatment option. These pressurized HBO chambers increase the amount of oxygen in the blood so the blood can carry more oxygen to organs and tissues. This helps wounds heal faster. / Holly Richards/Times Recorder

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ZANESVILLE — About 10 percent of the Genesis Wound Care Center’s patients will be able to benefit from a new treatment, and doctors hope to reach even more people closer to home.

Program Director Dena Bell said 300 patients at the center receive treatments for various wounds, and she anticipates the addition of hyperbaric oxygen chambers to reach about 30 of them. She hopes this number will increase as more awareness reaches area patients.

These pressurized HBO chambers increase the amount of oxygen in the blood so the blood can carry more oxygen to organs and tissues. This helps wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, skin tears, burns and other wounds, to heal faster, said Dr. David Skrobot, Wound Care Center medical director. Usually 20 to 30 two-hour treatments or dives are required during a four to five-week period.

Skrobot said this new-to-the-area treatment also will benefit patients who have been referred by other hospitals. Many HBO services are offered around the northern part of Ohio, and the closest wound centers until now were Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon, Union Hospital in Dover and Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

“Some patients have wounds, like foot ulcers, that have been open for years, and this helps treat them quicker in four to five weeks,” he said. “We’ve never had HBO here, and we’ve had patients that would have benefited from it, but had to be referred to other hospitals in Columbus or Akron. It’s an outpatient service, but now can be done closer to home.”

This past fall, Genesis partnered with Healogics, which provides advanced wound healing services such as HBO chambers to wound care centers. Area vice president Ross Parker said Healogics bought the chambers, which cost about $150,000 each, for the hospital as part of the partnership.

The HBO chambers made their debut at the end of April, and Skrobot said so far five patients have benefited from the treatments.

Skrobot said HBO treatments are not a single cure-all, and other treatments, such as wound debridement and offloading or relieving pressure, still are needed. He said other treatments the center offers include total contact cast, skin grafts and negative pressure.

He said this is another step in Genesis’ and the wound center’s evolution. The center opened in September 1999 with few staff. Today, it has four physicians, eight nurses and two nurse practitioners, who have been trained to operate the HBO treatments and chambers.

Along with the new HBO chambers, the center underwent renovations to make way for the new treatments. Parker said 750 square feet was added for the HBO chamber room and additional wound care treatment room. The three-month renovation was completed April 15 at a cost of about $200,000, paid for through the hospital’s capital improvement budget.

Many community members braved Thursday’s rain to visit the center during an open house. JoAnn Grubb, of Zanesville, felt comfortable in her “second home” as she mingled with the staff. She has been a longtime patient at the center for skin grafts and other treatments on her legs.

“They’re like family here,” she said. “Genesis is my hospital, and I don’t want to go anywhere else. Whether or not I’ll need to use these new treatments, I’m excited for the new addition. It will benefit a lot of people in the community.”